Jacon 2009 Announces Dates, Guests and Its Location for the Tenth - and Final - Year for Orlando, Florida's Japanese Animation Convention

Jan 1st 2009

The event, named JACON X: ENDGAME, will feature new and returning guests including a very special musical performance from Transformers singer/songwriter Stan Bush.

Orlando, FL, January 1, 2009: JACON 2009 (operating under the name JACON X: ENDGAME) will take place May 22-24, 2009 at the Ramada Orlando Celebration Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida. The event promises to be a celebration of the past ten years of JACON's (short for Japanese Animation CONvention) support of Central Florida's passion for Japanese animation and popular culture.

Weekend passes can be purchased in advance (online until Saturday, Saturday, April 4, 2009) for only $37 or at the door for $45. Weekend rates for the convention hotel (Ramada) are available for quad occupancy for only $99 plus tax. Parking at the resort and convention center for JACON is free of charge.

This year's guests include artists, authors, musical performers and voice actors both new and returning. Currently scheduled to appear (in alphabetical order) are Stan Bush, Gregg Berger, Richard Epcar, Lynn Flewelling, Rob Granito, Richard Horvitz, George Lowe, Doug Smith and Brett Weaver. As with previous JACON events, the guest list is subject to change pending unforeseen personal and professional commitments.
Further details regarding the convention can be found online at JACON's official website: www.JACON.org.

About JACON Guests

Stan Bush - Guest of Honor (Musical Performer)… Any fan of Transformers: The Movie (1986) will remember the heroic song "The Touch" and the infectious energy of "Dare" from the movie's soundtrack. Stan Bush is an Emmy Award winning recording artist who has written and performed songs for movie soundtracks (The Wraith, Kickboxer and Bloodsport) and original works of his own. JACON fans may also recognize Stan's song "She's Got The Power" from the American dub of Sailor Moon! "The Touch" is still a staple in today's pop culture - have been recently featured on the hit television show Chuck. We're excited to not only have him as a guest at the convention - but he will also be performing a concert for attendees. In 2009, JACON has "The Touch"! Stan's Official Website: www.stanbush.com

Gregg Berger (Voice Actor)… Gregg is the voice of Grimlock, the Tyrannosaurus Rex leader of the Dinobots in the original Transformers cartoon and Transformers: The Movie (1986). He is also the only actor to portray the voice of Odie in every animated version of Garfield - and still does so to this day! A talented voice performer, Gregg has done voices on dozens of shows and video games such as Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Kingdom Hearts II, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Astro Boy, and Men in Black: The Series. JACON attendees will no doubt recognize his voice as Jecht from Final Fantasy X. This is Gregg's second year at JACON - and we're excited to have him back!

Richard Epcar (Voice Actor)… This year will be Richard Epcar's first year as a guest at JACON, and we're excited to welcome him! His voice acting resume on IMDb details over 150 different performances that encompass popular anime, American dubs of many Sentai shows, and video games! Some of his more notable appearances include voice work on Lupin the 3rd, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, Saban's Masked Rider, Robotech, Cyborg 009, Xenosaga, Digimon: Digital Monsters, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Kingdom Hearts II, and (most recently) Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe as The Joker . In addition to voice work, Richard Epcar is also an accomplished voice director and writer - and wrote many of the episodes of Transformers: Robots in Disguise. Richard's Official Website: www.richardepcar.com

Lynn Flewelling (Author)… Lynn is an acclaimed American fantasy author who recently became a name in the Japanese popular culture community after appearing at Yaoi-Con in 2008. Best known for her acclaimed Nightrunner series - her novels are currently published in 13 countries, and in 2005, the first volume of the Japanese language version of Luck in the Shadows was published. While her books are best described as mystery or psychological crossover novels, a mix of high and dark fantasy, and she freely admits to wanting to give readers a fun literary ride, Flewelling also incorporates and explores various social issues, most notably gender identity and roles. Lynn's Official Website: www.sff.net/people/Lynn.Flewelling

Rob Granito (Artist)… Rob Granito is an internationally known artist and illustrator. Rob has worked for over 15 years in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and comic art. His name can be found alongside such companies as Warner Brothers, DC comics, Disney, Marvel, MTV, and VH1 where he worked on cartoons and comics as well as book, magazine, and novel covers. This is his second year as a guest for JACON. Rob's Official Website: www.robgranito.com

Richard Horvitz (Actor/Voice Actor)… For his second year, Richard Horvitz - best known as the voice of Invader Zim - returns to JACON. Richard's resume of voice acting is extensive and includes roles on Ben 10, Grim & Evil, Squirrel Boy and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. He also has done voice work on video games like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot, The Darkness, and Resistence: Fall of Man. For those of you that are truly "old school" - you may remember a young Mr. Horvitz as Alan Eakian in the classic 80's film Summer School. Finally - for you Sentai fans - Richard Horvitz is the voice of Alpha-5 on the insanely popular Mighty Morphin Power Rangers! Richard's Official Website: www.richardhorvitz.com

George Lowe (Voice Actor)… George Lowe is best known as the voice of "Space Ghost" on Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, and has been a regular guest at JACON since 2002. When auditioning for the "Space Ghost" role in 1994 he beat out the original voice actor who portrayed him, and went on to play the character in over 90 episodes on various shows. His voice can be heard (more recently) in guest appearances for shows like Robot Chicken (as a very, VERY friendly unicorn), Assy McGee and Aqua Teen Hunger Force on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

Doug Smith (Artist/Voice Actor)… Doug has been a regular to the Florida anime convention scene since 2001, and we're pleased to have him return for JACON 2009. He is best known to anime fans as "Kintaro Oe" in Golden Boy. Doug has also done voice work on many popular shows and films including Go Nagai's New Cutey Honey, Dirty Pair Flash, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo. These days he is a successful freelance artist and appears at conventions across the U.S. Doug's Official Website: www.dougsmithart.com

Brett Weaver (Voice Actor)… Brett Weaver's voice acting resume is extensive, but recent fans will know him best from ADV's Macross series dub as Roy Fokker. His other credits include voice work on Martian Successor Nadesico, Sorcerer Hunters, One Piece, Excel Saga, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Dirty Pair. Brett first appeared at JACON in 2002 - and we're happy to see him return! Brett's Official Website: www.big-big-truck.com

About JACON

“Florida's Most Successful Anime Convention” was started by a group of motivated college students on the campus of the University of Central Florida in early 2000. The Japanese Animation Club (JACO) was, at that time, renowned across the U.S. for its work in helping popularize anime (aka “Japanese animation”) through the creation and design of the fan-subbing program JACOsub (http://unicorn.us.com/jacosub/) in the 1990s.

The convention was designed to be a celebration of Japanese animation, popular culture and video games for local Florida residents to enjoy at the UCF student union. Ten years later, JACON has moved to larger and larger locations to accommodate the over twenty thousand attendees that have come to JACON from across the world over its ten year run.

The JACON staff has made the decision to move on to other projects after completing the tenth JACON convention. The consensus to do so was in order to “end on a high note” and host a huge celebration for Florida's anime fans of all ages for the finale event.

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